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1 Acta Sci. Pol., Hortorum Cultus 9(4) 2010, EFFECT OF SUBSTRATE TYPE AND METHOD OF FERTIGATION CONTROL ON YIELD SIZE AND FRUIT QUALITY OF GREENHOUSE CUCUMBER Józef Piróg, Grzegorz Bykowski, Włodzimierz Krzesiński University of Life Sciences in Poznań Abstract. Yield and fruit quality of cucumber depend on such factors as plant cultivar, plant nutrition and the cultivation method. The presented paper contains results confirming the usefulness of rockwool and coconut fibre as well as the application of the fertigation system in cucumber growing. Studies on the growing of cucumber Onyks F1 cultivar were carried out in the years in an unheated greenhouse. A two-factorial experiment was established. One experimental factor consisted in the fertigation control methods including device and the starting tray. The other factor included substrate types: rockwool and coconut fibre. Plant distribution was 2 plants per one square metre. On the basis of the presented studies, it was found that greenhouse cucumber yielding was influenced by the frequency of nutrient supply, by climatic conditions in the given year and by the applied substrate type. The applied media of rockwool and coconut fibre did not exert any influence on plant yielding. On the other hand, a significant effect on the total and the marketable fruit yield was exerted by the cooperation between the fertigation control method and the substrate type. Key words: cucumber,, starting tray, rockwool, coconut fibre INTRODUCTION Fertigation represents fertilization combined with irrigation which ensures an even distribution and exact supply of nutrients to the plant root system [Jeznach and Treder 2006, Komosa 2002, Piróg 2004]. Correct preparation of nutrient is conditioned by analysis results of water used for irrigation and by the knowledge of the critical values of the nutrient for the given species [Komosa 1994, Komosa and Roszyk 1997]. Water quality including EC and ph values decide about their usefulness for fertigation. For glasshouse cultivation of cucumber, one can use the following organic substrates: fen mixed with pine bark, coconut fibre, fibre of coniferous trees, polyurethane or polyphe- Corresponding author Adres do korespondencji: Józef Piróg, Department of Vegetable Crops, University of Life Sciences in Poznań, ul. Dąbrowskiego 159, Poznań,

2 100 J. Piróg, G. Bykowski, W. Krzesiński nolic foams. Among substrates, one can apply: rockwool, keramsite (expanded clay) [Piróg 2001, 2004]. A high competition of vegetables offered on the market requires a constant search for new technical and biological solutions in order to obtain high yields, good quality and decreased production costs [Libik et al. 1996, Piróg 1998]. The problem of fertigation control with the use of the control device, which operates basing on solar radiation, was discussed by Piróg [1999] and by Pudelski [1994a], while Piróg and Komosa [2006] applied in their studies the time control device Sterling 12.In intensive growing under cover, key important is the selection of an optimal substrate regarding the suitability of its type and quality for the given species [Michajłojć and Nurzyński 1998, Komosa 2008, Libik et al. 1996, Piróg 1998]. The objective of the presented studies was the determination of the influence of the applied substrate and the method of fertigation control on the yield size and on the fruit quality of greenhouse cucumber. MATERIAL AND METHODS Studies on cucumber were carried out in the years in an unheated greenhouse of the Department of Vegetable Crops, University of Life Sciences in Poznań. The cucumber, Onyks F 1 cultivar, bred in Spójnia Agricultural Breeding and Seed Production in Nochowo, was used in the studies. A two-factor experiment in random block design was established in four replications. One factor consisted of two types of fertigation control: and a starting tray. The second factor included two growing substrates: rockwool and coconut fibre in the form of foil-covered mats with m dimensions. Nutrient was supplied to the substrates by a system of individual drip-irrigation controlled by or a starting tray. operated basing on solar radiation by activating the nutrient supply after each determined number of new supplied calories. This determined calory value amounted to 100 calories in the period from plant plantation to plant flowering, 90 calories from flowering to yielding and 80 calories in the period of cucumber yielding. The growing mats operated on the basis of a determined moisture degree. The time of each nutrient supply in both variants was 5 minutes in the period from plantation to yielding, and 4 minutes in the period of fruit yielding. Nutrient composition was determined on the basis of chemical analysis of water used for irrigation and on the basis of the critical values of macro- and microelements for cucumber. The whole area of the greenhouse was covered with a white-and-black foil. The growing bed (80 cm wide) was prepared according to a belt-and-row design. It was divided into two rows which were covered with growing mats. Each mat had two openings for seedlings (the openings were cut out at a distance of 50 cm from each other) providing a density of 2 plants per one square metre of the plot. Eight plants were grown on one plot. Important treatments are shown in table 1. Climatic conditions in the period of experiment were differentiated in the particular years of studies. The best light conditions for the plants existed in the year In that year, the highest values were recorded referring both to the mean solar radiation Acta Sci. Pol.

3 Effect of substrate type and method of fertigation control on yield size and fruit quality (20.4 MJ m -2 d -1 ) and to its sum in the period of growing ( MJ m -2 ). In 2005, these values were the lowest and they amounted to 19.0 MJ m -2 d -1 and MJ m -2, respectively. Inside the greenhouse, the mean air temperature oscillated between 20.7 C in 2003 and 18.7 C in On the other hand, the relative humidity showed 73.3 and 65.6%, respectively. Table 1. Important cultivation treatments in the experiment Tabela 1. Ważniejsze zabiegi uprawowe w doświadzczeniu Year Rok sowing date siew nasion Treatment date Termin zabiegu seedling plantation sadzenie rozsady first harvest pierwszy zbiór last harvest ostatni zbiór Length of harvest period in weeks Długość okresu zbiorów w tygodniach The plants were guided by a supporting system made of strings reaching to the height of 2.2 m. Harvests of fruits from the particular plots were carried out 3 times in the week. The collected fruits were weighed, counted and sorted into classes (first clas fruits 8 to 14 length, second class fruit above 14 cm length and non marketable fruit). Yield results were statistically analysed using STAT program. Analysis of variance was carried out and the significance of differences between the mean values was determined using t- Student s test at the significance level of α = Furthermore, fruits were subject to morphological, physical and chemical analyses and also regarding the contents of dry matter, extract, nitrates, nitrites, total acidity and total content of sugars. Nitrates and nitrites were determined by colorimetric method, dry matter was measured by weight, total acidity by titrimetric method and sugars content by Lane-Eynoma method. RESULS AND DISCUSSION Yielding. On the basis of the performed studies, it was found that an influence on yield differentiation of greenhouse cucumber was exerted by the frequency of nutrient supply, by the climatic conditions dominating in the given year and by the substrate type. The highest influence on the total yield and on the first class fruits of greenhouse cucumber (expressed by empirical F 4.01 for total yield and by 4.58 for first class fruit yield) was exerted by the climatic conditions in the experimental years (tab. 2 and 4). The highest yield obtained in 2003 amounted to kg m -2, while the lowest yield of kg m -2 was obtained in These values differed significantly between each other because the LSD at α = 0.05 amounted to 2.09 kg m -2. Similar relations in yielding were recorded in the yield of the first class fruit in the year 2003 amounting to kg m -2, in the year 2005, it amounted to kg m -2, while the least significant difference was 1.85 kg m -2. According to Gajc-Wolska et al. [2008], significant factors Hortorum Cultus 9(4) 2010

4 102 J. Piróg, G. Bykowski, W. Krzesiński in cucumber growing include also climatic conditions and particularly the intensity of radiation, temperature and humidity. Table 2. Total yield of greenhouse cucumber fruits, depending on the applied factors in the years 2003, 2004 and 2005 Tabela 2. Plon ogółem owoców ogórka szklarniowego w zależności od zastosowanych czynników badań w roku 2003, 2004 i 2005 Total yield in kg m -2 Plon ogółem w kg m -2 mean średnie Starting tray Taca startowa Starting tray Taca startowa Mean for year Średnia dla lat empirical F F empiryczne LSD α = 0.05 NIR α = 0,05 Years Lata (A) 4.01* 2.09 Control Sterowanie (B) Substrate Podłoże (C) A B A C B C 4.79* 2.41 A B C * significant deference różnice znaczące Actually, in greenhouse, vegetables are grown in inert substrates and among them, rockwool is dominating [Oświecimski 1996, Rumpel 1998, Piróg 2001, Kołota and Biesiada 2002]. In practice, coconut fibre is increasingly more frequently used as an alternative substrate for rockwool and as substitute of raised peat. Coconut fibre possesses good physical properties and it undergoes biodegradation [Rumpel 1998, Piróg 1998, Halmann aand Kobryń 2002, Komosa 2002]. Rockwool and coconut fibre was also used in tomato cultivation by Kołota and Biesiada [2002], Halmann and Kobryń [2002], Kobryń et al. [2007], while Piróg [2001, 2002] used those media in the growing of cucumber. In the present studies, rockwool and coconut fibre did not exert any essential influence on the total, marketable yield and the first class fruit yield. However, study results have indicated a tendency showing that substrate type may exert an effect on yielding. Rockwool has shown to be a slightly better substrate for cucumber cultivation, as compared with coconut fibre because plants grown in it created higher total, and marketable yields and first class fruit yield reaching respectively the following values: 19.99; and kg m -2 (tab. 2, 3, 4). Differences in the yielding of cucumber grown in rockwool and in coconut fibre indicated an increasing tendency in the total yield. Studies of Piróg [2001] on cucumber grown in different mineral and organic substrates showed that the highest yielding was obtained on rockwool. On organic sub- Acta Sci. Pol.

5 Effect of substrate type and method of fertigation control on yield size and fruit quality strates, cucumber yields were lower by about 9%, while on expanded clay, they were lower by about 30%, in comparison with the yields on rockwool. In our own studies, a high influence on the total and marketable yields was exerted by the interaction between fertigation control method and the substrate type because the empirical F for the total yield amounted to 4.79, while LSD at α = 0.05 was 2.41 kg m -2. On the other hand, for marketable yield, the empirical F amounted to 4.05 and the LSD at α = 0.05 was equal to 2.21 kg m -2. The average commercial yield amounted to kg m -2 (depending on the interaction between rockwool and the fertigation control by ), while the lowest yield was shown when plants were grown on coconut fibre with fertigation controlled by the starting tray. Table 3. Marketable yield of greenhouse cucumber fruits, depending on the studied factors in the year 2003, 2004 and 2005 Tabela 3. Plon handlowy owoców ogórka szklarniowego w zależności od badanych czynników w roku 2003, 2004 i 2005 Marketable yield in kg m -2 Plon handlowy w kg m -2 mean średnie Starting tray Taca startowa Starting tray Taca startowa Mean for years Średnia dla lat Fators Czynnik empirical F F empiryczne LSD α = 0.05 NIR α = 0,05 Years Lata (A) Control Sterowanie (B) Substrate Podłoże (C) A B A C B C 4.05* 2.21 A B C * significant deference różnice znaczące A slightly smaller influence on cucumber total yield was exerted by the substrate and its interaction with the weather conditions dominating in the experimental year when the empirical F amounted to 3.62 and 3.20, respectively, while the LSD at α = 0.05 showed 1.71 and 2.96 kg m -2, respectively. A tendency to an increasing total yield was also observed when the weather conditions in the experimental year interacted with the type of fertigation control. Higher yields were obtained in the years 2003 and 2004, when fertigation was controlled by starting tray. An increasing tendency of marketable yield was shown by plants in the particular years of studies. In the year 2003, a higher yield was obtained (18.58 kg m -2 ), in comparison with the yield from the year 2004 (17.00 kg. m -2 ) and the year 2005 (16.50 kg m -2 ). Hortorum Cultus 9(4) 2010

6 104 J. Piróg, G. Bykowski, W. Krzesiński Table 4. First class yield of greenhouse cucumber fruits, depending on the studied factors in the year 2003, 2004 and 2005 Tabela 4. Plon kl. I owoców ogórka szklarniowego w zależności od badanych czynników w roku 2003, 2004 i 2005 First class fruit yield in kg m -2 Plon kl. I w kg m -2 means średnie Starting tray Taca startowa Starting tray Taca startowa Mean for years Średnia dla lat empirical F F empiryczne LSD α = 0.05 NIR α = 0,05 Years Lata (A) 4.58* 1.85 Control Sterowanie (B) Substrate Podłoże (C) A B A C B C A B C * significant deference różnice znaczące The yield of the second class fruit and the non-marketable yield presented a negligible percentage of marketable yield (5 7%) and therefore, those yields have not been discussed here in details. Fruit quality features. Morphological features of greenhouse cucumber such as: fruit length, fruit thickness, the width of seed case and the shape coefficient of fruit showed some differentiations depending on the years of studies. On the other hand, the substrate and the type of fertigation control influenced the above mentioned features in a very similar way. In the year 2005, on the average, longer fruits were harvested (19.5 to 20.4 cm) than in the year 2003 (16.0 to 18.1 cm) and in 2004 (15.7 to 16.6 cm). However, the differences were small and not statistically proven (tab. 5). Similar dependences were observed in the fruit thickness which in 2005 showed from 5.0 to 5.1 cm; in to 4.4 cm and in the year to 4.5 cm. One can also speak about an increasing tendency in reference to the seed case which in 2005 showed from 3.0 to 3.1 cm, in 2004, the mean value was 2.5 cm, and in the year 2003, it ranged from 2.4 to 2.8 cm (tab. 6). The fruit shape coefficient was very similar in all combinations (3.6 to 4.2 cm). Woźniak et al. [1999] and Piróg [2001] found that the length and thickness of fruits and the cucumber shape coefficient grown in different substrates were also different. The occurring differences were small and statistically not proven. In the years , the contents of dry matter in the fruits of cucumber Onyks F 1 grown in greenhouse in mineral and organic substrates were more or less equal and they ranged from 3.7 to 4.1% (tab. 7). The least amount of dry matter was obtained in fruits collected in the year 2004 from plants grown in coconut fibre. In the experiment Acta Sci. Pol.

8 106 J. Piróg, G. Bykowski, W. Krzesiński clay, the dry matter showed the value of 3.9%. Martyniak-Przybyszewska and Wierzbicka [1996] stated that substrate type did not exert any influence on the content of dry matter in cucumber fruits. Taking into consideration the type of fertigation system control, the content of dry matter in fruits showed differentiated values ranging from 3.8% to 4.2%. Content of extract in plants grown in rockwool ranged on the level of 3.3% in all years of studies, while in plants grown in coconut fibre, it ranged from 3.4% (in 2004) to 4.0% (in 2003) (tab. 7). On the other hand, in cucumber fruits grown on different types of expanded clay, Woźniak et al. [1999] found that the extract content showed from 3.2 to 4.09%. In the studies carried out by Piróg [2001], a differentiated extract content in cucumber was obtained when the plants were grown in rockwool (2.6 to 2.8%), on coconut mats (3.1%) and in expanded clay (3.4%). The method of fertigation control differentiated the extract content in fruits. The least amount of extract (3.3%) was found in fruits collected in 2004 from plants which received nutrient supply controlled by, while in the year 2005, the extract was lower when nutrient supply was controlled by the starting tray. The highest content of extrat (3.8%) was recorded in 2003, in fruits originating from plants grown under the control of device. Table 8. Content of nitrates in the fruits Tabela 8. Zawartość azotanów w owocach Content of nitrates, mg NaNO 3 kg -1 f.m. Zawartość azotanów, mg NaNO 3 kg -1 św.m. Mean Średnia Substrate Podłoże Control Sterowanie starting tray taca startowa Mean Średnia Independent of the applied substrate type or the method of fertigation control type, the ph value was very similar and it amounted from 5.6 to 5.7 (tab. 8). Similar results were obtained by Piróg [2001] in his studies on greenhouse cucumber grown in different organic and mineral substrates where ph showed the value of General acidity of fruits was changing in the successive years of cultivation. In 2005, the lowest acidity of fruits originating from plants of greenhouse cucumber grown in rockwool showed on the average 0.44%. The highest acidity was recorded in the year 2004 (0.60%) Acidity of fruits harvested from plants grown in coconut fibre displayed a high diversity and it ranged on the average from 0.50% (in 2005) to 0.60% (in 2004). Woźniak et al. [1992] found a much lower total acidity of cucumber fruits ranging from 0.11 to 0.18%. Similar results were obtained analyzing the effect of the fertigation control method exerted on the total acidity of cucumber fruits. In the successive three years of studies, fruits collected from plants grown in a substrate, where the nutrient supply was Acta Sci. Pol.

9 Effect of substrate type and method of fertigation control on yield size and fruit quality controlled by, were characterized by variable acidity. In the year 2003, it amounted to 0.51%, in 2004 it showed 0.63% and in 2005 it was 0.48%. The use of starting tray for fertigation control contributed to a more equalized general fruit acidity. In the two first years of experiment, acidity showed 0.57%, while in the third year of growing, it was 0.45%. The highest content of total sugars was shown by fruits collected in the year In fruits originating from plants grown in rockwool, 1.44% of total sugars was found, while in plants grown in coconut fibre, the value of total sugars was 1.52%. In fruits collected in 2005 from plants grown in substrates, where nutrient was supplied with control, there was 1.51% of total sugars, while in fruits from plants, where the starting tray was used, the sugar content showed 1.45%. In the year 2004, it was found that some influence was exerted by the control which decreased the amount of sugars in the studied fruits. Table 9. Content of nitrites in the fruits Tabela 9. Zawartość azotynów w owocach Content of nitrites, mg NaNO 2 kg -1 f.m. Zawartość azotynów, mg NaNO 2 kg -1 św.m. Mean Średnia Substrate Podłoże Control Sterowanie starting tray taca startowa Mean Średnia The content of nitrates in cucumber fruits in the performed experiments was rather high and it oscillated between and mg NaNO 3 kg -1 fresh matter (tab. 8). Those values were admissible, because the critical value is 500 mg NaNO 3 kg -1 fresh matter. The highest value of nitrates was recorded in fruits obtained in the year 2003, while the lowest value was found in The cooperation of the substrate type with the fertigation control did not exert any effect on the differentiation of nitrates content and this value oscillated between and mg NaNO 3 kg -1 fresh matter. In the studies of Piróg [2001], in cucumber fruits grown in such substrates as fen mixed with pine bark, VapoGro, Cocovita, cocomats, Flormin, Vitagreen,, polyurethane foam and expanded clay, the content of nitrates amounted from 156 to 430 mg NaNO 3 kg -1 fresh matter, it means that it was below the admissible value. The content of nitrites in the fruits of all experimental years was small and it amounted from 0.01 to 0.15 mg NaNO 2 kg -1 fresh matter (tab. 9). In the studies of Piróg [2001], the content of nitrites was similar as in the here presented experiment amounting from 0.09 to 0.31 NaNO 2 mg kg 1 fresh matter. Hortorum Cultus 9(4) 2010

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